School of Health Sciences

The School of Health Sciences furthers knowledge of health and wellness through research and teaching to make a difference to the wellbeing of the nation. The school integrates the clinical bioscience and physiological disciplines in health to the specialist areas of environmental health, occupational health and safety, public health and health promotion and rehabilitation and disability studies.

Study programmes

Students will learn about the big issues in health faced by people and populations. Our programmes are about finding practical solutions to health problems and empowering society, organisations, workplaces, communities and individuals.

Research expertise

Our research is focused on the science and art of preventing disease, improving quality of life and our environment, prolonging life and promoting health, and reducing health inequalities.

Explore

Find out more about the Massey study programmes, research, facilities, services and people working in the School of Health Sciences' areas of specialisation.

Meet our students

Studying my degree has enabled me to work as an Environmental Health Officer. This has allowed me to put my knowledge into practice. Work alongside communities and providers selling food and making sure they do this safely. The help and support received from staff, lecturers and other students was invaluable in completing my degree.

My research looked at Māori perspectives on social networking, which is of interest to many research groups and institutions, particularly as it is a new field. I was one of the first to examine this topic.

As far as jobs go, physiology occupies a central position among the biological sciences so the skills you develop can be easily applied to other disciplines. Majoring in physiology gives you a good solid basis for a career in the biomedical fields.

My work in the field of occupational health and safety consultancy is extremely varied. One day I could be at a smelter conducting noise measurements, the next I could be in a small office providing education to a team of lawyers on office ergonomics, and then I might be called offshore to conduct health checks on an oil and gas facility

I chose to study at Massey because of the high calibre of supervisors in the Master of Public Health programme. My decision proved to be right as I had a supervisor who had the knowledge and expertise to effectively support my academic journey.

The convenience of distance learning and flexibility gave me the opportunity to excel in my career path as an Outreach Community Health Worker. With Massey University, I was able to achieve the desired outcome, the completion of my ‘tohu’ in Public Health and Health Promotion.

The best part about my career is that it enables me to actively engage with the public. I love that I’m not bound to an office. I meet people from all different backgrounds. Each day is different and can change with just one phone call or email.

I chose Massey University to do my studies due to the fact that I could do my course via distance learning, and still work full-time. Juggling mahi and study had its moments but with the support of the tutors and support services, I got through.

The staff at Massey University helped me find my way and set me in the right direction to achieve what I wanted. There is no doubt that without the support from my lecturers I wouldn’t be where I am today.

The environmental health arena is vast in its spectrum of applicability, in New Zealand as well as overseas in less developed nations. My qualification will be useful regardless of my future role – in or out of uniform.

I enjoy working in health sciences because it is multidisciplinary field, which deals with human and animal health. I am passionate about the study, research, and knowledge of health and the application of that knowledge to improve health and cure diseases, and to understand how humans and animals function.

My studies have taught me that you don’t need to be a veterinarian to help animals; Physiology is a broad degree with many possible routes which all have a focus on improving the health of humans and animals.

Research centres

Centre for Ergonomics, Occupational Safety and Health

The Centre for Ergonomics, Occupational Safety and Health (CErgOSH) is a College of Health research centre operating within the School of Health Sciences. It synergises and co-ordinates the University’s expertise in the fields of ergonomics and occupational safety and health. Find out more about the Centre's contributions to teaching and research.

Accreditation and rankings

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (UK)

IOSH (UK) is the largest OSH practitioner professional association outside the United States. Our Graduate Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety is the only NZ tertiary qualification accredited by IOSH (UK). Students who complete this qualification will meet the academic requirement for Graduate Membership to IOSH(UK). Membership then leads to registration as an OHS practitioner.

Shanghai Ranking - public health

Massey University is ranked in the top 200 universities in the world in the subject area of public health by the Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. The ranking is determined by a series of indicators such as the number of papers authored by an institution in an academic subject, international collaboration on papers, and the number of staff winning awards in an academic subject.

Staff and careers

Head of School of Health Sciences

Associate Professor Rachel Page

Rachel has over 25 years of experience in leadership, learning and teaching and research. She has had a number of leadership roles that have implemented change and growth within the organisation. Her current research focuses on preventing and improving health outcomes especially in areas of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Rachel has extensive experience in supervision of Postgraduate students and loves making science relevant and accessible to students at all levels of academia.

College of Health

Honorary and adjunct appointees

The School of Health Sciences has appointed a number of experts in their field to contribute to the education of its students.

Adjunct Senior Lecturer Mat Walton is with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR) which is New Zealand’s Crown Research Institute for science relating to people and communities. He specialises in the application of systems and complexity theories to social, environmental and policy research.

Mat Walton - Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Health SciencesFind out more

Adjunct Associate Professor Leonie Walker was a Principal Researcher for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation from 2008 to 2017. Her research is mainly in health promotion and the nursing workforce. Her expertise includes health inequalities, international health promotion, HIV/AIDS, addictions and diabetes.

Professor Emeritus Roger Lentle pioneered research methods in the field of digestive biomechanics. He has published extensively in his field. He has over 140 publications in peer reviewed journals with more than 2000 citations as well as an academic book ‘The physical processes of digestion’. He is Co-Editor in Chief of the journal ‘Food Digestion’.

Professor Roger Lentle - Professor Emeritus, School of Health SciencesFind out more

Adjunct Professor Barbara Burlingame is a nutrition scientist and one of the world’s leading specialists in nutrition and food systems. She joined Massey after retiring as Deputy Director of Nutrition at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, where she worked for 16 years. In addition to public health nutrition and food systems, her expertise includes food composition, biodiversity for food and nutrition, and sustainable diets.

Professor Barbara Burlingame - Adjunct Professor, School of Health SciencesFind out more

Adjunct Senior Lecturer Stan E Abbott is recognised as an expert in many aspects of rainwater harvesting at national and international levels. His area of expertise is environmental microbiology and he has published and presented numerous papers on a variety of recreational and drinking water quality monitoring projects.

Stanley Abbott - Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Health SciencesFind out more

Awards and recognition

First year health sciences student Kelcie Mills was awarded Zespri's inaugural $15,000 three-year scholarship after submitting an essay outlining the far-reaching effects of improved workplace health and safety practices in New Zealand.

Professor John Potter, from Massey University’s Centre for Public Health Research, has been named in the top one per cent of most cited scientists in the world. Professor Potter’s career has focused on nutrition, other environmental and host factors, and genetics in the aetiology (cause of disease or condition), pathobiology (the biology of disease), and early detection of cancers and other chronic diseases.

The second edition of Pharmacology in Nursing: Australian and New Zealand won the Tertiary (Adaptations): Student Resource Category at the Educational Publishing Awards Australia. Head of the School of Health Sciences, Associate Professor Rachel Page wrote 17 chapters.

Dr Collette Bromhead was appointed chief executive of the New Zealand Organisation of Rare Diseases (NZORD). The health advocacy organisation represents the interests of New Zealanders affected by rare disorders by promoting research and partnering with clinicians to improve diagnostics, treatments and support.